


sleeves

by flyingroses121



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Self Harm, graphic descriptions of self harm, saimota, tw self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 05:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21192611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingroses121/pseuds/flyingroses121
Summary: Shuichi needs Kaito. Kaito responds.WARNING: THIS WORK INCLUDES GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF SELF HARM. IF THAT BOTHERS YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS. Keep yourselves safe!





	sleeves

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna warn you guys one last time, this fic has a very vivid description of self harm. Do NOT read this if that is a sensitive subject for you. Be safe, guys. Enjoy the story!

The time of year didn’t matter one bit. Even if it was the middle of summer, Shuichi would always be wearing sleeves of some sort. Cardigan, hoodie, sweater, shirt- always sleeves.

Kaito was more than determined to figure out why.

Part of him wanted to just go up and ask him. The other part held him back. What if it was a sensitive question..? He wouldn’t think so- it was just some sleeves, right?

He thought as he walked from the main building to the dorms. He wasn’t sure what he could do to find out. Going to Shuichi and asking felt like a bad idea, so… who else would know?

Kaito got to his room and threw his bag on the floor before flopping onto the bed with a deep sigh. He figured a good sleep would do well for his thought process. It has in the past!

He was almost ready for bed when he heard knocking at his door. “Come on in, it’s open!” He called, hurrying to pull his pajama pants on. The fleece material was soft, and made him feel nice, and it reminded him of a warm hug.

He looked up when the door opened to see Kaede. “Oh, hey. What’s going on?” Kaito hadn’t expected her to show up, but it was nice to see her nonetheless.

She looked worried, wringing her hands with a small smile on her face. “Hey… I need to talk to you.” She came closer to him, though keeping her distance.

Kaito’s demeanor changed to be more serious. “Of course. What’s wrong?” He crossed his arms and stood with his legs apart, a confident pose he made often.

Kaede took a breath. “It’s about Shuichi, actually.” Her hands moved to the bottom hem of her shirt. “Have you noticed?”

Was this about the sleeves? “Notice what..? The sleeves?” He asked, moving his hands to his hips.

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded. “Yeah! He’s been wearing sleeves a lot more than usual lately. And it’s… really making me worry.”

Kaito tilted his head when he thought about what she could mean. “I mean… it’s getting colder outside. Maybe he’s dressing for the morning and forgetting about the afternoon..?” He suggested with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

Kaede seemed taken aback by this response. “That… wasn’t what I was going for, Kaito.” She said simply.

Kaito still didn’t know what Kaede was hinting at. “Uh… then why? Sorry, it’s…” he ran a hand down his face, “it’s been a day. I’m tired.” He shrugged,

Kaede’s eyes widened. “O-oh! I didn’t realize how late it was…” her face turned red as she glanced down at her phone. “I can come talk to you tomorrow, if you want.” Her hands rested at her midsection, clasping and unclasping in a nervous frenzy.

Kaito smiled softly, nodding. “You must be tired, too. Sorry.” He laughed softly. “It’s no big deal, really. Just come tomorrow! I’ll be here.” He nodded, his gaze soft.

She was still blushing as she went to the door. “Right! Will do. I need to get some sleep, too.” She gave a small wave before leaving with a, “See you, Kaito!”

“Bye!” Kaito called after her. He turned on his lamp then turned off his lights before sliding into bed, getting on his phone. The conversation he had with Kaede ran through his head, and he couldn’t help but start racking his brain for reasons Shuichi could be wearing sleeves all the time. He could just be cold natured? He could just like the feeling of sleeves?

Whatever it is… Kaede was really worried. Should he feel the same level of urgency..?

He would find out tomorrow.

-

Kaede could barely sleep. She knew Shuichi had… tendencies. Bad tendencies that involved wearing sleeves, even when it was blazing hot outside. She looked at the time- six forty. Her anxiety flared once again, and she decided she wasn’t going to take this anymore.

She got out of bed and went to her keyboard. She plugged in her headphones and put her book of etudes up, deciding to work on some assignments. If she wasn’t going to sleep, she may as well be productive.

The next time she looked at the clock, it was eight o’clock. She hummed in interest, and kept working. When she looked up again, it was almost nine. She nodded with satisfaction and closed her book, setting it down on a nearby table and turning her keyboard off. She gently laid her headphones down and jumped when she heard a knock on her door. “Uh, uh- come in!” She hurriedly snatched a hoodie off her bed and pulled it on, just barely getting her hair out of it as the door opened.

It was Kaito. “Hey, did- did Shu message you?” His eyebrows were furrowed into a crease, making his already serious expression even more so.

Kaede looked to her phone and checked it. “I’ve been practicing since seven, so I wouldn’t have seen it…” she trailed off as she grazed her notifications. “No, he didn’t. What did he say?” She looked up at him.

Kaito came in and closed the door before showing his screen to her. “Is this what you were talking about last night?”

Kaede grazed the message. Her eyes widened with every word.

Kaito, I’m sorry. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this up. I keep relapsing and I don’t know what to do I really need you

“Relapsing… so he is…” Kaede looked at Kaito with tears in her eyes,

He nodded, pursing his lips. “I know what you were talking about now. I should have let you finish. I’m going to him right now.”

Kaede nodded, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Yeah. T-tell him I love him and he’s my best friend, please?” She said, not being able to stop the tears that started flowing as she spoke.

Kaito’s heartstrings tugged. “I will. I’ll update you as soon as I can, okay?” He put his phone away before putting a hand on Kaede’s shoulder and squeezing softly.

Kaede nodded. “Go to him. He needs you.”

-

The last thing Kaito expected to see was Shuichi, sitting in his dark room, with a razor blade in his arm.

“K-Kaito!” He tried to hide it, but he had already seen. Shuichi knew he had already seen, and it was too late to hide what he was doing. Hell, he already told him in that message…

Kaito just stood in the doorway, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide. “Shuichi…” he stepped in and closed the door before turning the light on. He came closer to the other boy. “Give it to me.” He held out his hand for the razor blade.

Shuichi looked at his hand, then at his still bloody arm. He pursed his lips to keep it from wobbling as he slowly handed it to him with shaking hands.

Kaito put the blade on his nightstand before gently grabbing onto Shuichi with both hands on each of his shoulders. “C’mon, get up. Let’s get that cleaned.” He kept his voice soft and caring, even though everything inside him was screaming with panic.

Shuichi let the tears fall as he stood up with Kaito’s gentle urging. He let him keep his hands on his shoulders as they went into his bathroom. “I’m sorry.” He choked out as Kaito led him to the edge of the bathtub.

“Don’t. You don’t need to apologize for this, Shu.” His voice was still quiet and calm. Shuichi wasn’t sure if he liked it.

Shuichi closed his eyes and sighed, trying to get as much excess emotion out as he could. “I- yeah. Yeah.” He nodded, letting Kaito grab onto his throbbing arm. He opened his eyes to look at it. Four horizontal tracks, right below his wrist, on top of the other already healed scars. There were more down his arm. His rolled up sleeve covered them.

Kaito held a damp rag in one hand and Shuichi’s arm in the other. He lightly dabbed the blood away from the cuts, his carefulness making Shuichi’s heart swell. Even now, he couldn’t help but pine. Kaito was the one who he had reached out to, when he could have messaged anyone else. He didn’t want anyone else. Kaito made him feel safe.

“Do you have rubbing alcohol or anything? These need to be cleaned before they get wrapped up.” Kaito asked, looking up at Shuichi.

“Yeah, uh, under the sink.” He gestured with his free arm to the cabinets.

Even when Kaito let go of his arm, he didn’t move it. He continued to stare at the fresh cuts, which were now a bright red, until Kaito appeared once more. “This is gonna burn.” He warned before pouring some out on a cotton pad and pressing it to the open wounds.

Shuichi tensed, closing eyes and breathing through the pain. Somehow, it hurt worse than when he made them. “I appreciate you helping me.” He said, his voice quieter than he had anticipated, eyes slowly opening to watch Kaito’s hand.

Kaito looked up at him when he was done, putting the cotton pad down beside him. “Shuichi,” he lifted himself up and planted his hands on his shoulders, “I will always be here for you. Even when it gets this ugly. You deserve so much, and I’m going to try my damndest to give it to you.” He felt himself start to choke up. The immense love he felt for Shuichi at that moment almost overtook him completely. He wanted nothing more than to hold him close, let him talk and vent and do whatever he wanted. It didn’t matter what Kaito wanted- he would listen and entertain whatever little thought Shuichi had.

Shuichi locked eyes with Kaito, his breathing becoming irregular as he choked up once again. “I love you so much.” He said, the last part barely a wisp of air as he seemed to cave in on himself. More tears fell in streams down his face.

Kaito took a breath and nodded, emotion flooding through him as tears of his own fell. “I love you too. Don’t you ever forget that.” He smiled and gave his shoulders a firm squeeze before going back to the cabinet to take bandages and gauze out. He took out the amount of gauze he felt was appropriate for the wounds and wrapped it around Shuichi’s arm first before wrapping bandages around him. He felt a tug at his chest when he saw the gauze already turning red in some areas. “Okay. You’re all patched up. Do you have any more razors or things that you don’t trust yourself around?” He asked, eyebrows creased and mouth a thin line.

Shuichi thought for a moment, gaze back on the floor, and shook his head. “Just the one.” He replied. His other arm grabbed onto his bandaged one, thumb running along the odd material.

“Look at me, Shu.”

Shuichi looked up to see an expression he had never seen on Kaito’s face.

“You have to promise me you won’t do this again. If you ever feel the need to… cut again, message me. Message Kaede, Maki- hell, even Kokichi. Just don’t do this to yourself again.” He said, eyes full of genuine, raw emotion, some he’d never shown to anyone up until now.

Shuichi swallowed at the knot in his throat as he spoke again, “I don’t want anyone else, Kaito. You… make me feel at home. I feel okay when I’m with you.”

Kaito couldn’t help but smile when he heard his friend say that. “Hey, that… that means a lot. And I mean what I said earlier. I love you so much. I love you, and I…” the overwhelming emotion was back, “I want to spend every damn second with you.”

Shuichi felt his eyes start to brim with tears yet again, his throat tightening, speaking becoming harder and harder. “Me too, Kaito. Me too.” He let out a sob, a hand coming to his mouth to dampen the sound.

“Come here.” Kaito stood and held out a hand for him.

Shuichi took it. He stood with his best friend until he was pulled into a hug, Kaito’s arms wrapped tight around him. Slowly, he began to feel a sense of security again, the darkness around him brightening with the light of their love.

-

Kaito cleaned up the bathroom, throwing away the cotton pad and washing the bloody rag until the red spots were a light pink. He made a note to remind Shuichi to wash it with his laundry. “So… I could leave, and give you time to yourself, or I could stay with you. I don’t mind either way.” He turned to him, big smile back.

Shuichi pursed his lips. “Please stay. Time to myself is what caused… this.” He gestured to his arm.

Kaito sucked in a soft breath when Shuichi mentioned it. “Alright. I’ll stay.” He opened an arm for him, big smile turned soft and loving.

Shuichi made his way to him and pressed onto his side, arms wrapping around his midsection. He couldn’t help but smile when he felt Kaito’s arms around him once again. “Thank you.” He said softly into his chest.

“Don’t thank me. Like I said, I…” he took a breath, “I want to spend every second with you. I always have.” Kaito replaced his usual brash tone with a more tender one.

It made Shuichi melt. “Kaito, I meant it when I said I love you.” His voice was slightly muffled by his shirt, but the words still hung in the air nonetheless.

Kaito looked down at the smaller boy in his arms, his heart overflowing with care and adoration. “I did, too. I love you more than…” he laughed before continuing, “I love you more than the entire Milky Way.”

The laugh he heard out of Shuichi made his stomach flutter. Hearing such a healing sound in a broken scene like this was refreshing. “Well, then, I love you more than the feeling of satisfaction I get when I solve a hard case.” Shuichi replied as he looked up at him.

Kaito let out a laugh of his own, resting his forehead on his for a moment. “Well… what do we do now?” He asked quietly.

“I say we cuddle. I need to lie down.” Now that he thought about it, Shuichi realized just how lightheaded he felt.

“Good plan, Shu.” Kaito pulled back, arms still around the other.

They locked eyes again. Now that the bad emotions were mostly gone, the relief they both felt made the bad moment worth it.

The kiss they shared also made the moment worth it. It was a small kiss, nothing more, but…

It meant the world to both of them, signifying the start of something big.


End file.
